When Jimmy was 12 years old, his father took him to see a musician named Gene Johnson, who played the mandolin, in a small club near Detroit, MI. Gene became one of Jimmy's bluegrass hero's and later on….his partner in the group Diamond Rio.
Jimmy was born in Minneapolis, MN on August 26 and when he was a teenager he had already mastered the banjo and gave lessons, however, by the time he was in college in Nashville, he found out that guitar players were more in demand than banjo pickers, so he mastered the guitar.

Jimmy joined the Tennessee River Boys in 1984 at Opryland theme park alongside Marty and Dan. His musical influences are Earl Scruggs, Leon Rhodes and Clarence White and one of his all time favorite singers is Ella Fitzgerald.

Jimmy is married and he and his wife adopted two boys and are enjoying family life. Jimmy also enjoys sky diving and weight training.

" I remember that [co-producer] Mike Clute once asked me a very poignant question, He said, 'If this was your last album, what would you record?' I told him that I want to make records that will be played by friends in late-night listening parties, like I used to do, pulling out George Jones doing 'The Grand Tour,' The Dixie Dregs' 'Pride of the Farm' or Ella Fitzgerald singing 'Round Midnight.' "